Local authorities and Ukrainian officials have confirmed Ukrainian attacks on the Russian-occupied southern city of Melitopol on Saturday evening.
The strategically located city, which had a pre-war population of just over 150,000 people, is located in the southern region of Zaporizhzhia that Moscow claims to have annexed.
Russian-installed officials and Ukrainian authorities issued conflicting reports about the target of the strikes and the casualties.
Russia-installed head of Zaporizhzhia region, Yevgeny Balitsky, said that the Ukrainian troops struck Melitopol at around 9:00 pm on Saturday.
He claimed that the attack had destroyed a “recreation centre” on the outskirts of Melitopol, killed two people and injured another 10.
He further revealed two rockets had been shot down, while four reached their target.
On his part, the exiled mayor of Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov, noted that Ukrainian forces hit Russian troops in Melitopol and that dozens of “invaders” had been killed.
Russian forces seized Melitopol in the beginning of the offensive which began on February 24.
